Chapter Twenty
Xav
Sequin didn’t let me out of his sight for days. Not that I wanted to be away from him and our egg anyway. I clung to him in my misty ice form for days on end, still too tired to shift back. We dozed together, waking up only when it was time to tend to our egg or for Sequin to eat. A few times, he tried to wave his ground cow sandwiches in my mist but it only left me feeling greasy.
Eventually, I did wake up in my very solid form, sleeping nearly on top of Sequin near our egg. The icy egg had grown up to my knee during my recovery. I couldn’t stop staring at it. Our egg survived against the odds. We survived against the odds and---
“The odds weren’t against us,” Sequin shook his head, looking up at me from where he laid. “Seriously, they weren’t. Even if Selatris hadn’t wanted to come and visit, the others would’ve made it in time. Everyone within a mile of us crashed through the front door about the time you passed out. Everyone was ready to fight for us. Even if Liatris hadn’t made his tiny door, someone would’ve known what to do. We’re not alone here. I was so afraid that it was too late for you. I didn’t know what to do besides put you in the freezer.”
“It was a good call,” I stretched out next to him again. “I wasn’t melting. I just ran out of magic, I think, or whatever fuels it. I feel better now. Starving and a bit tired, but glad to finally be able to be in this form with you again.”
He kissed my forehead, and I pulled him closer. I wanted to apologize for everything my mom had done and mostly for not realizing sooner that she crossed my mind so often because she was watching us from the shadows. How had I endangered my family so much? How had I let them down?
“You didn’t let anyone down, Xav. She’s crazy, that’s for sure, but you didn’t let us down. You fought. You were willing to go back with her to save us – which never do that. I’d rather be dead than know you’re going to be unhappy forever.”
“I wasn’t going to stay with her,” I shrugged. “I figured once you were safe I’d figure out how to get rid of her. I’d rather know you’re alive and waiting for me to escape than dead. I can’t live in a world without you, Seq.”
“Don’t say that,” Sequin shook his head hard and fast. “Never say that because we all learn to live in a world without people we love every day. If something happens to me I want you to live. I want you to live the best that you can. I don’t plan on dying or doing anything stupid and getting myself killed, but if something does happen, I’ll never rest easy knowing you think you can’t live without me.”
“I don’t want to live without you.”
“I don’t want to live without you either,” he said and rested his forehead against mine.
“Hey, we make a pretty good team even in a fight. So, that’s not gonna happen. Not for a long time anyway. True-mates usually go together at the end, right?” I smiled because I needed his scent to be happy again.
“Right,” he nodded, and we shared a long, slow kiss.
Behind me the eggshell cracked. Most dragon eggs took months to hatch but some came sooner, and some hung out inside the shell a lot longer than that. I turned to face the egg. There was only a hairline fracture that marred its otherwise perfect surface.
“It’s time!” Sequin said, pushing himself up right and moving closer to our icy egg.
I followed his lead as the air around the egg cooled bit by bit until a mist oozed out of the hairline fracture of the egg’s cold shell. More and more mist came, until the air in front of the egg was nearly as dense as fog. Then on the padded surface in front of us lay the tiniest baby I ever saw. I was certain Selatris did not come out that tiny, but I wasn’t his parent. Maybe all babies looked smaller and more in need of protection than other babies to their dads.
“He’s beautiful,” Sequin whispered, scooping him up as he sucked the rest of his icy mist into himself. “And he’s like you.”
“He has your eyes,” I scooted closer as the baby flailed his little limbs getting comfy against my mate’s chest. He was perfect. Our perfect baby who was born here and safe against all the odds. He’d never know a tyrant as his grandmother. As far as we knew, my sister carried on with the job of leading the elves of the elements and that was fine by me.
Everyone I couldn’t live without was nearby and everyone I lived for was right in the nest with me. Soon, we’d tell the others that the baby had been born, and we’d let them meet him but for now he was ours. Our little icy dragon hatchling.
“Glacier,” Sequin whispered naming our baby. That name would fit in perfectly with all the dragons he’d grow up with.
Soon the time for the wedding planning and reuniting Sequin with his sister would come but for now, our little family had grown, giving us a healthy little boy, and the nest was my favorite place in the world to watch time pass by.
READ ON to see who meets their mate in the next book and to find out if Daliah ever gets her dream wedding.
Hello and thank you for reading! Whether this is your first book in this universe, or you’ve been around since the beginning, thank you!
Some housekeeping notes:
1) So, mostly this is just me dropping in to say that of course, Xav’s fictional transition doesn’t line up with what transition looks like in reality. Everyone’s transition is a unique journey and will look different. Each of these are valid, but for story telling purposes I wrote Xav the way I did, and I adore him and I adore the Starscale Medical system. Those who know me, know the current medical system leaves me without words because sometimes the people involved just don’t get what’s going on. 2) Also, because I know someone’s going to ask how Xav got Sequin pregnant. I really want to point out that in this genre no one questions cis omegas who are men getting pregnant but I’ve had people tell me Xav couldn’t be an MC because he couldn’t get anyone pregnant. But Xav could’ve even before his transition. AFAB alphas have gotten their mates of various gender/alpha-omega statuses pregnant since my first series. Darian and Sky have a sister who always has a pregnant mate. So she doesn’t go to any family gatherings and she’s not the only one.
3) Yes! All the crew members and Marsin will find their mate in this series! That means Teddy will be with his mate by the end of the series. I know a lot of you are asking about him but good things come to those who wait. Plus, Teddy has an important role to play in the future. So, things must be set up for him.
4) Daliah will get her double wedding. I almost included it in an epilogue of this book until I thought about it and decided it will best fit in the next book for reasons I can’t share yet.